what made you wanna fly gyros?

I've seem gyros on TV and other places but when I attended the PRA convention in Texas, back in I think 2001, and accutually saw them up close and flying I fell in love with them and knew this is what I want to do some day, took a while but I have one now and am in training.
 
When I was a kid I sent away for the info packages for the Pitts Special and the Bensen Gyro, I carried them to Jr High school, everyday to pour over in study hall,
The Gyro won out, just because of simplicity and just dang fun! :)
 
I carried tower hobbies magazines to high school with me I was model airplane slut!:rapture:

When I was a kid I sent away for the info packages for the Pitts Special and the Bensen Gyro, I carried them to Jr High school, everyday to pour over in study hall,
The Gyro won out, just because of simplicity and just dang fun! :)
 
Wow Dennis

Wow Dennis

Your the only other person that I've ever heard say that..

Martian Chronicals,, Return to Mars....Rocky Hudson
 
I like the question "What made you wanna fly gyros?". So I went back in my memories and found my 4 step approach:

Phase 1: I saw "Little Nellie" and found Juan de la Cierva and Pitcairn in some aviation history books. In an Austrian Newspaper in 1980 I found an article about Otto Frank, one of Austria's gyro pioneers. I travelled some 50 km to meet him in Fürstenfeld/Styria, saw him flying his home built Bensen B7 clone and was absolutely fascinated! But learning how hard his way to this gyro had been, how many obstacles he had to pass to get this gyro into the air legally (against the rules of a very "traditional" authority) and the fact that for an Austrian experimental there would be no official license, no insurance, ... made me forget this idea and I started with a regular PPL flying Cessnas, Pipers, Rockwells, Diamond Aircrafts, ...

Phase 2: Another Article in 1984 informed me about a group of 6 to 10pilots that wanted to home build closed single seater gyros based on a construction of Oskar Westermeyer, the first Austrian gyro constructor (and teacher of Otto Frank). This seemed very interesting and affortable for me at that time - but unfortunatly Oskar Westermeyer died on cancer before the whole project was on its track.

Phase 3: I saw a TV documentation in 1997 about Ken Wallis which gave me the final kick to look from time to time for an opportunity to fly gyros. Searching in the internet I found that in 2003 there was a chance to operate gyros as an European UL and went to several events. At Tannkosh I met Michael Obermaier (www.GyroTec.de) the first time and decided that this is the machine that I need to have.

Phase 4: Only 4 weeks later I went to France where Michael developped his DF01 and DF02 prototypes in a most beautiful landscape, the "Charente". During my holidays I made my flight training with Eric Changeur and got a French license. Only months later I also made the German license (because nowadays I live in Munich / Germany). Some other months later I ordered my own DF02. Waiting for the completion of it I had many opportunities to fly and compare several European gyros (Magni M16/M19/M22, ELA-07, MT-03, GyroTec DF02, ...).

So have a look at my "red beauty", being the "Phase 5" of my gyro experience:

Regards, Holger
 

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